Sultanahmet Archaeological Park

Sultanahmet


Excavations here have uncovered parts of the Great Palace of Byzantium. The park has been closed for restoration for almost a decade, with no signs of it reopening any time soon.

Transportation

  • tram: Sultanahmet

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Sultanahmet attractions

1. Aya Sofya Tombs

0.04 MILES

Part of the Aya Sofya complex but entered via Babıhümayun Caddesi, these tombs are the final resting places of five 16th- and 17th-century sultans –…

2. Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque

0.06 MILES

Right in the heart of İstanbul’s historic center, this sacred Byzantine building remains an important symbol of power.

3. Fountain of Sultan Ahmet III

0.1 MILES

This ornate rococo-style fountain outside the Imperial Gate to Topkapı Palace's First Court was built in 1728 by the sultan who so favoured tulips.

4. Carpet Museum

0.11 MILES

Housed in an imaret (soup kitchen) added to the Aya Sofya complex in the 18th century, this museum is entered through a spectacular baroque gate and gives…

5. Basilica Cistern

0.12 MILES

This subterranean structure was commissioned by Emperor Justinian and built in 532. The largest surviving Byzantine cistern in İstanbul, it was…

6. Imperial Gate

0.12 MILES

Topkapı Palace's Imperial Gate leads to the palace's First Court, known as the Court of the Janissaries or the Parade Court. You can go through the gate…

7. Milion

0.13 MILES

This was kilometre zero during the Byzantine Empire: the starting point of the Via Egnatia, the great road linking Constantinople with the Adriatic coast,…

8. Soğukçeşme Sokak

0.14 MILES

Running between the Topkapı Palace walls and Aya Sofya, this picturesque cobbled street is named after the Soğuk Çeşme (Cold Fountain) at its southern end…

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